Dream Catcher
by MellowInsomniac
Summary: A reoccurring nightmare reduces the village's number 1 hyperactive ninja to a distant shadow of sadness. Sasuke believes he can save the blonde from tumbling into agony by providing him with the secret to peaceful sleep: a Dream Catcher. OOC, Slight Angst.
1. Nightmare

**title: Dream Catcher**

**paring: SasuNaru**

**pating: M for angst, language, and sexual content**

**d.c: Don't own Naruto as my wish has yet to come true. **

**a/n: I'm reposting this story cause...it's beenyears since I updated. I'm on a writitng vendetta to finish everything that I've started. So in the spirit of new beginnings I'm giving this baby a new shelf life.**

**Comment with thoughts.**

**anywho, Enjoyxoxo**

**_Chapter 1; Nightmare_**

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><p>The sleeping blonde shot up suddenly, panting heavily, drenched in a cold sweat. He exhaled harshly and gipped his aching chest with a trembling hand as his accelerated heart rate threatened to cause his heart to break from his chest.<p>

His normally tan skin, a sickly pale as hot tears ran down the ice cold expanse of his colorless cheeks.

His grim expression a reflection of an inner agony that had sank into his very soul.

He shifted slightly, abruptly stopping as he felt his stomach heaving up a gut wrenching nausea that physically shook his muscular form. The ebony waves of his bed sheets stuck to his skin, making him feel as if he were trapped in the tangled mass. He could smell the sickening stench of fear degrade every corner his small room.

"Fear is weakness"

He growled and ripped the covers from his body as he heard the phrase echo in his head. He swung long tattooed legs over the edge of his bed and sighed as his heated feet made contact with the icy hardwood floor. He raised still trembling hands to cup his face, sighing repeatedly in exasperation.

'How many damn times am I going to wake up like this? When will I stop being so fucking weak?' He thought with a self-directed rage.

He clenched his hands, dragging his nails across his eyelids and cheeks, leaving red marks in their wake. He growled in anger once more and stood abruptly. He glanced over at his digital alarm clock, expecting the little red number to read 4 A.M. The usual time that he was haunted by "the dream".

Not to his surprise the clock read 3:56 A.M.

He stretched his massive 6'1" frame, dragging toned arms above his head and groaning as his aching muscles gave a heavy resistance. He began his "morning routine" of stalking over to the closet and sliding the tiny white door across its track; pulling out a fresh set of sweat pants, a t-shirt, and his tennis shoes. Stripping off the sweats he'd been sleeping in, he slipped on a fresh pair of boxers and begrudgingly pulled on his work out attire.

He walked over to his nightstand and grabbed his iPod, headband, keys, and wallet, then flicked off the light. He left his room and went for the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the empty refrigerator. Pulling back his long hair into a nest on the top of his head and slipping in his headphones, he left his apartment, hearing the lock click behind him faintly as his workout mix began to blare in his ears.

He grabbed onto the railing outside his door, stretching his stiff frame in preparation for his workout. As every other morning, he took the time to observe the beautiful surroundings that were painted on the canvas in front of him.

The air was crisp with the scents of early morning. Although it was still dark, the sun was barley beginning to peek up against the horizon. Merchants and artisans were beginning to wake up to start the day's tasks. Children and adults alike peacefully asleep in bed.

As he descended the stairs of his apartment, the trees shifted in the morning breeze. As if the village had taken a breath, bringing it to life. He surveyed the landscape one last time and gave a hollow smile.

Time to get to work…

He began with a run. 25 laps around the village center. 30 minutes.

Then, as he reached the training grounds, 1000 push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. 1 hour.

Next, Taijutsu practice. 30 minutes. Genjutsu practice. 30 minutes. Ninjutsu practice. 1 hour

Then, a follow up run of 10 laps around the village center. 20 minutes.

Finally, the jog back to his apartment; with his muscles screaming in agony and oxygen deprivation and his lungs burning with the white hot intensity of 1,000 suns. 15 minutes.

Total workout time: 4 hours and 5 minutes. And approximately 45 minutes before the scheduled meeting time at the training fields at 9:00 A.M. A new record.

He ascended the stairs leading to his apartment, heaving with effort as his limbs threatened to turn to complete Jell-O. He reached a shaking hand into his pocket as his workout mix winded down to the final minute of the last song. He brought the key to the lock, and weakly pushed the door open. Ripping off his shirt and pulling his hair down, he chugged the last of the bottle of water and tossed it in the trash. He drug himself over to the oversized couch in the living room and fell on it face first with an audible moan of pleasure.

And as the final 10 seconds of the song ticked to zero, tired blue eyes overcome with a deep penetrating exhaustion and his aching body numb, he muttered with washed-up anger:

'When will I stop being so fucking weak?'

9:05 a.m – Training Field 3

"Oi! "

"Where's – "

"…Naruto?" The two other members of the former rookie Team 7 and their sensei asked in unison.

With quizzical looks, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Sasuke, surveyed the usual meeting spot for their blonde companion. As of the last few years, after Sasuke's return to Konoha, Naruto had been the first and last to leave training sessions. His entire demeanor had become someone very distant and serious about the art of being a Ninja.

It was odd that he wasn't at the bridge like normal. Especially because it was the last day of their official ANBU training with their assigned mentor Kakashi. Tsunade-sama had hand-picked the three of them six months ago to join the ranks of her Black Ops, making Kakashi their sensei once more. The blonde had surpassed even Sasuke and was in line for a squad leader position even before being officially inducted. The final observation was today at 1 p.m., he should've been even earlier than normal.

It had to mean that something was seriously wrong. The three ninjas looked around silently to see matching worried faces. Sakura stood from her leaning position on the bridge and quickly turned to to Kakashi and asked:

"Sensei, what should we do? This isn't like Naruto at all…"

Kakashi placed his hand to his chin and gave a perplexed sigh. Sasuke shifted nervously as his mind raced and shuffled through a thousand scenarios as to where Naruto could be. The dobe was notorious for being in the wrong place at the wrong time but never when it came to training, which was all he did lately. Sasuke turned and began to pace in thought as Kakashi and Sakura rambled useless nonsense about him being sick or hurt or gone. Naruto was definitely in Konoha, alive and well. There was no way he'd miss today, not after what he told Sasuke the first day six months ago after training:

'Naruto and Sasuke hit the ground simultaneously after the last grueling training match of the evening. Exhausted beyond words, the two ninja huffed labored breaths as they tried to recover from the brawl. Kakashi and Sakura lie on the other end of the field, mirroring the two in their actions.

Sasuke looked down to his right arm, cut up and bleeding and hissed after realizing how much it actually hurt. Naruto shifted his eyes at the sound and moved towards Sasuke's hurt arm. He lifted his hands and preformed a few seals and extended them toward Sasuke's wound. The dull humming sound resonated in quiet field as Sasuke's eyes opened wide in shock. Naruto's red chakra swirled around his cut and soothed the pain to a dull throb in a matter of seconds.

"Naruto…you can do Medical Ninjutsu? How is that possible?" Sasuke said with a bit more shock than he would've liked.

"I cannot. This is my own jutsu. I learned to harness my rapid healing abilities from Kyuubi and manifested it into a jutsu." He said calmly, not looking up from Sasuke's arm.

Said raven was in shock from hearing the dobe, Uzumaki Naruto, explain to him how he created his own jutsu. The same dobe that used to get tied to the wooden pole in this very field by Kakashi every training session for messing up in one way or the other.

'His evolution is amazing. I hadn't noticed HOW strong he's really become'

The blonde finished healing Sasuke and slowly stood and stretched backward, bringing his arms above his head, lifting the small shirt to his upper chest. Sasuke then noticed the scars all over Naruto muscled stomach and arms. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and stood to face the stretching nin.

"'Ruto. What are all those scars? We haven't had missions in weeks…" Sasuke asked in concern and curiosity.

Naruto looked down and quickly pulled his shirt down to cover his stomach and his long sleeves to cover his arms. He gripped his wrist and stared at the ground as a small, hollow smile crept onto his lips. He gave a small chuckle and looked to Sasuke with pale blue eyes:

"Pain is for the weak, Sasuke-san. I condition myself against the weak by giving myself pain. It's the only way to become strong and achieve my dreams. Pain is the key to strength… and this ANBU training will prove mine."

Sasuke cringed. At the use of the superlative in his name that Naruto had used since he returned to Konoha and at the icy cold realization of what Naruto had been doing to himself.

"Naru—"he began, reaching for Naruto's arm.

"See you tomorrow Sasuke-san." Naruto said with a poof as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.'

'No…he surely wouldn't miss this. There's got to be something really wrong.' Sasuke thought.

"Sensei, may I go look for him?"

"Heh? Sasuke? Erm…I suppose. Do you know where he could be?" Kakashi said with confusion.

"Hn." There was only one other place that Naruto could be other than the training field.

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><p><strong>an: Boom. Reinvented. Don't give up on me, I ain't quite washed up yet. Stay tuned for new installments.**


	2. Catch Me

**a/n: I feel like Naruto should be depicited as a lot more...real than he is in the anime/manga. It makes me think deeply on the inner turmiol of such a beaufiful chracter and makes me want to morph it into something that us normies can relate to. That's why I can pump out stuff like this.**

**Ranting. Anywho, Enjoyxoxo**

**_Chapter 2; Catch Me_**

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><p>Naruto woke to a pounding at his door. His unfocused eyes groggily opened as he sat up, muscles screaming in protest. He stood with a grunt and shuffled to the door, clicking the lock and opening it to a burst of sunlight. There in the midst of the blinding light stood a dark figure, about 6'2", muscular, brooding.<p>

Sasuke-san.

Naruto grabbed his toned arm and pulled him into his small apartment, closing the door to the accused beams of light from the sun. He turned and stumbled back to his previous spot on the couch, plopping down with a thud. Naruto rolled his head back to look at the ceiling with still unfocused eyes, white spots filling his vision every time he blinked. He let out a grunt and Sasuke, slowly moving to the couch to loom over the sloth-like boy, took it as a "What?" and began to ask:

"Naruto, where were you toda—?"

"Sleeping."

"Why?"

"Tired."

"How could you possibly be—?"

"A nightmare. A chilling nightmare. With you as its main character. I have it every night. Wake up sweating and in tears like a goddamn weakling. I wake up at about 4 am, every morning after tossing and turning until 2. It never fails. The only way for me to get back to sleep is to work out until I pass out. From 4 till 8:05. Just enough time for rest until training time."

Sasuke was taken aback at that. What could he have to do with Naruto's supposed nightmare? And how could it be bad enough to vex him from sleeping? Knowing the extent that Naruto usually goes, that work out would probably be physically impossible for anyone else. Even him. Which means that the blonde must be in excruciating pain at all times. But he never shows it. Why wait till today? It doesn't make sense.

"You know how important today is! How could you push yourself so hard that you can barely move? Remember what you told me? How can you prove yourself like this?" Sasuke yelled with fire in his obsidian eyes. The blonde had yet to open his and Sasuke was about ready to pick the boy up and toss him across the room. His tan body looked so weak; it was as if you could see the wear in his muscles. His sculpted face had a bit of stubble from not shaving that morning; the prickly hairs framing hollowed cheeks. Deep purple lines dug into the skin under his eyes. This was the first time Sasuke had actually seen him look so…

Tired.

'I know you are better than this. I know you have more inside of you. You ARE strong enough! Why can't you see that? Why can't you see what I see? Why do you...' He thought with desperation. He leaned down to grab at the boy's wrist, hoping to pull the sleeve up to see the damage that had been done. He caught a glimpse of the mangled flesh, scars and whelps omnipresent on the boy's skin. If this was this bad…how was the rest of his body?'

"Why do you—"? Sasuke repeated in a whisper.

Cerulean eyes flashed open and hastily pushed Sasuke's chest away from him, locking eyes with the raven as he turned to face him, knees hitting the back cushions of the couch as he grabbed the wrist of his sleeve and pulled it down over his hand.

"Why do I do this to myself? That's what you're thinking right? I told you once before. I hate being weak. All my life that's all I've ever been. Compared to you, I am nothing. I am tired of waking up hollow because I'm not good enough to be considered one of you; the elite. So, I work hard every day to become stronger. Nonstop. Pain is weakness. And my key to becoming strong. I'm not yet strong enough for today; I won't approach it until I'm sure that I have absolutely no weakness whatsoever. So I can stop being in the shadows," Naruto said with a calm face and voice.

"You are stronger than anyone in Konoha. Trust that fact, Naruto. There is no way to achieve no weakness! Everyone has weaknesses. The fact that you think that proves that you ARE weak."

"You couldn't understand." He spat darkly.

"Let me try, Naruto. Please. Tell me! Show me what to do. I want to help."

Said male looked down to his long sleeve white shirt and began to scratch his inner wrist with long nails audibly raking the clothed skin with the rough cloth. His head dropped and Sasuke could hear the faintest sob of tears. He tried to put his hand out to touch the boy, wanting to comfort him from his pain but Naruto jumped back toward the wall, away from his touch. The blonde looked up with waves in his sad blue eyes and chuckled.

"I wouldn't want you to. No one should know this feeling. This pain…this weakness…Sasuke-san. No one should want to be near such a weak and worthless being. Especially not to help them."

Sasuke saw the first drops of crimson hit the lightly stained wood of Naruto's apartment and lost control. He flashed across the room to slam Naruto into the wall, grabbing his forearms and pining them to the wall. Teeth bared and sharingan flaring. The boy looked away, turning his head and averting his eyes from the angry gaze. Sasuke growled and grabbed his arms harder.

"Look at me." He commanded in a warning tone. Normally, Naruto could easily escape from this hold and completely destroy Sasuke, but his exhaustion gave the taller male the advantage. It also contributed to his submissiveness because the boy slowly turned to face his head toward the flaming male pressing him into the wall.

"I said LOOK at me." Those deep blue eyes full of never ending tears looked to face angry red. He tired to open his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. After a few more attempts, Naruto finally managed, in a weak voice:

"Sasuke-san. I—"

"Don't fucking call me that! I have never been "Sasuke-san" to you, Naruto. I have known you since practically birth. You have never called me Sasuke-san. We are too personal for that. Don't ever call me that again. Do you fucking understand me?" Sasuke rumbled. The dam of fury he was hold back since he found out what Naruto was doing six months ago finally was about to burst.

Naruto shook his head yes, as the tears began to flow even faster. His bottom lip quivered in effort to keep from sobbing out loud.

"This," Sasuke continued, abruptly pulling up Naruto's sleeves to reveal countless scratches, cuts, and bruises.

"And this…" He ripped Naruto's shirt from his chest, pointing toward the hundreds of scars and whelps all over it. "…is going to fucking stop. You hear? Now. Today. No goddamn more."

Naruto's chest swelled at that, feeling his anger begin to spark as well. This was not Sasuke's place to tell him what he could and could not do. His tears quickly dried up as the spice of fury tickled his tongue. He had no authority over his life. Naruto began to push against Sasuke's hold, to his demise, his muscles were still very weak and it was useless.

"Sasuke-sa— I mean, Sasuke, you have no right to tell me what I can an ca—" He began. Until a pair of hot, and furious lips were crushed against his own to shut him up. Naruto froze in shock as he felt the metallic tinge of blood creeping into his mouth.

Sasuke expected resistance but Naruto was just stuck, seeming to have froze in place. But he wasn't pushing away which was a good sign. He took Naruto's arms and wrapped them around his neck and slid his hands down to Naruto's exposed waist. The blonde kicked up then tensing hard and then relaxing as Sasuke parted his lips with a velvety tongue, exploring the caverns of his mouth.

Naruto groaned into his assaulter's mouth at the feeling of the kiss. He let his body take over as he melted into the kiss, closing his eyes and leaning forward. The silky tongue in his mouth was playful, so he began to tangle his own with it. This time, it was Sasuke's groan that filled Naruto's mouth. He shuddered and grabbed the boy's neck tighter. He had never been kissed before and this was…his first…with Sasuke…

At that he pulled away and pushed his hands to Sasuke's chest, putting his head down with a tremendous blush. What had just happened? Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke had just kissed him. Willingly…it was like a dream. The dream that always turned into the…

Sasuke placed his hand under Naruto's chin to pull his face back up to him. Although it had been rash and abrupt, the kiss worked out very well. Naruto even returned it after a while. He was met with flushed whiskered cheeks and a distant look in those cerulean globes. He pressed Naruto to the wall one again and hugged him, head falling to a tan shoulder and sighed, mumbling:

"Don't tell me it's not my business. Everything with you is my business. You're all I care about you know."

Naruto snapped out of his dazed state as he heard Sasuke mumble those words. Could it be that he actually cared for him? Not just as a rival or friend…but as a lover? He gasped and moved his shoulder to lift Sasuke's face to see a pink stain across the pale boy's face. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what his relentless training had caused him to over look.

Sasuke always waiting for him after training, no matter how late. Sasuke helping him study and spar early in the morning. Sasuke always asking him if he needed anything, if he could help with anything, if he needed anyone. The sideways glances. The concerned stares after he received injuries. His concern of his eating habits. His protective nature on missions. The fact that he came to him this morning…and every morning that something was wrong…

Sasuke had been in love with him for…

"I've loved you for years. Years, Naruto. Even before I left. You're the reason I came back. I couldn't stand not seeing you and knowing I was the one making you unhappy. I really do. I love you more than life itself. So please…don't tell me it's not my concern. Or that you hurt yourself to make you stronger. Please. I want you to smile again. I want you to love again. I want you to be happy. Don't keep doing this to yourself….I'm begging you."

Sasuke sighed with all his might. He hadn't meant to confess like this, so…sensitive and emotional. But…he felt Naruto's chest contract and heave. He looked up to see tears flowing once again in those blue orbs, but…those sweet lips were peeled back into one of the biggest smiles Sasuke had ever seen Naruto make. He opened his eyes wide and paused, eventually smiling back.

"You love me?"

"Yeah."

"For how long again?"

"I said years."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Me too…always." Naruto sobbed, squeezing Sasuke's neck tight. "Always, always. It's been my dream. I never thought you would. Or could. All I've ever wanted was to reach you… and I finally reached you!"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto tighter and sighed heavily again. Finally.

'I've never felt so good in all my life. This is where I need to be.' They thought in unison. Suddenly, Sasuke pulled away slightly, slightly confusing Naruto. He had a seriously perplexed look on his face, like he really wanted to know something but was hesitant to ask.

"What?" The blonde prompted, stoking his arm.

Sasuke paused yet again. Looking down, as if studying what he wanted to say or if he should say it at all. Naruto fidgeted nervously as the seconds ticked to minutes. The taller male finally looked up with a serious expression with hard eyes, sure of what he wanted to know and said:

"So…tell me about that nightmare."

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><p><strong>an: I anticipate there will be lots of imagery in the next chapter. And I will probably end up being shorter than the last two. That, or I combine the dream and the sex. Not sure. Stay tuned. **


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